Cordae Hankton's New Orleans roots have made him one of CU's top recruiters

Colorado offensive grad assistant coach Cordae Hankton's fingerprints can be seen all over the Buffs' efforts to recruit effectively in the south, namely in Louisiana.

"Coach Tuck wants to recruit in Louisiana and it's there to happen," Hankton will say. "We want to keep the iron as hot as it can be in Louisiana."

Needless to say, if the Buffs are offering a recruit from the state, the vast majority of the time Hankton has been heavily involved, either offering them personally or showing them to a corresponding position coach at CU and creating a line of contact.

Hankton grew up in New Orleans. He served for five years with the New Orleans Police Department from 2009-2013 and coached high school ball there for the better part of a decade. All in all, his personality, work ethic and successes as a recruiter in Louisiana and in general for Mel Tucker in large part stems from his New Orleans roots.

Hankton grew up in uptown Hollygrove, a mile and some change from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Both of his parents were officers with the New Orleans Police Department and Hankton followed in their footsteps, earning his badge in 2009.

In 2010, a major life event came for Hankton in the form of tragedy. While on routine assignment patrolling the city, Hankton's cruiser was hit by a drunk driver. The wreck resulted in the death of his partner and while Hankton survived, he required back surgery in the aftermath of the crash, at which point Hankton also began to wonder about his future.

That future eventually began with an assistant coaching job at his alma mater, Archbishop Rummel, where he coached from 2012-17. Later in 2018, he was D.C. at John Ehret High School, Kordell Stewart's alma mater. That time period working for two powerhouse and successful high schools helped plug him into the world of football in New Orleans.

"Coaching at John Ehret, which has been a perennial power at [Class] 5A — guys know who you are," he said. "When you’re winning, everybody knows who you are."

Tucker entered the equation in 2018, when he was still D.C. at Georgia and Hankton's older brother Cortez was coaching the wideouts there.

"He came to my house," Hankton said. "My brother [and Tucker] were in New Orleans recruiting a kid, and my mom cooked red beans that night. Coach Tuck came over to the house, I met him then and we talked. He asked [me] what I wanted to do in life and this profession and I said ‘coach, my next goal is to get to the college level.'"

That meeting proved to be the springboard that would eventually net Hankton a job with Tucker at Colorado.

“It actually kind of kicked off on accident and I didn’t even realize it happened," he said.

Fast forward to December of 2018, and after building more of a relationship with Tucker by going to Georgia football games, Hankton got the call he wanted — an offer from Tucker to be his G.A.

Hankton has since used his roots and reputation within New Orleans to give the Buffs an unprecedented presence in the state of Louisiana. His ability to relate and talk to recruits there, many of whom know him by reputation and resume, continues to yield dividends for the Buffs.

"Me growing up in the inner city and growing up with those kids, I can speak the language they speak," he said. "They want somebody that’s going to take care of them and be there for them, and most importantly, their parents want somebody that’s going to take care of them. When they come out here, can they still eat gumbo and jambalaya and red beans? That’s who we are. [New Orleans] is a culture-based place. We’re about food, family and friends."

At Colorado, his police officer roots show in every day interactions.

"My players joke around that I’m always so intense, but that’s the mindset I’ve always been trained with, having life or death [implications] when you make a mistake," he said. "We have the luxury of it not being life or death in football."

Recruiting is personal for Hankton. It's a chance to extend a hand to young men living close to where he did and help create a chance for them to better themselves and their lives through hard work on the football field.

“To get those guys going to colleges, that’s so important in New Orleans," he said. "To the naked eye, New Orleans is awesome. It’s Bourbon Street, it’s Mardi Gras, food, drinking as much as you can, but on the other end of things, some of those inner city kids don’t have that opportunity...to get out of those neighborhoods. Playing college football is their only way to do that.”

Thanks in large part to Hankton, the Buffs find themselves in contention for recruits with major universities closer to home.

"When we’re in the conversation with Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Clemson, whoever else, and we start getting over the hump, that’s when it’s going to start," Hankton said. "It only takes one guy to get here and get things going. This place has everything and more that other places have. Once a New Orleans kid comes here and sees the mountains for the first time, that’s all it takes.”

Perhaps most importantly, Hankton has served as a solid ambassador and walking embodiment of the hands-on, genuine approach to recruiting that Tucker has strived to implement at Colorado.

"Coach Tuck said that we’re going to recruit every day and not just recruit them, but tell them the truth — we’re not going to lie to these kids. [They'll] see how beautiful this place is, how intense practice is and the pace we move at," Hankton said.

"We’re days away from everybody seeing what the Mel Tucker Era is all about.”